Eight individuals, aged 31 to 73, have been arrested by the National Police officers in Alicante on suspicion of fraud, document fabrication, and membership in a criminal organisation. The police made the arrests following the falsification of cheques totalling over 132,000 euros.
The individuals involved in the criminal activity, which also encompassed “love scams” and forced card charges at point-of-sale terminals, deposited the checks into bank accounts through ATMs or redeemed them at the teller window, according to the police.
The Economic and Fiscal Crime Group of Alicante initiated the investigation based on two distinct lines of work, which ultimately converged upon the identification of the same suspects.
One of them was the result of a complaint from the director of a bank branch, who informed authorities of the fraudulent accumulation of checks worth 80,000 euros through deposits at ATMs.
In the same moment, officers apprehended a woman at a branch for attempting to redeem a cheque for 38,816.18 euros.
Investigators were able to intercept the fraudulent document after the detained woman had previously cashed another counterfeit cheque worth 13,357.07 euros.
The investigation verified that the cheque had been manipulated to show the detainee as the beneficiary, rather than an affected company that had already disclosed the information.
Investigators identified two additional parties involved in this case: one who recruited individuals with bank accounts to clear the cheques, a term known as “money mules,” and another who served as an intermediary. Upon their discovery, both were apprehended.
The agents ascertained that all of the checks had been tampered with and that the victims were various commercial enterprises.
The two investigations’ mutual connection resulted in the discovery of a conspiracy that was dedicated to a variety of bank schemes, including a “love scam” that claimed at least three victims.
Additionally, they are accused of using manual charges on card terminals to defraud 6,399 euros from the same business by inputting card details instead of utilising the standard payment system.
The operation resulted in the apprehension of five additional individuals, bringing the total to eight. The case has been referred to the duty magistrates’ courts in Alicante, and it is possible that additional arrests will be made.
